A Sign on the Road

Pushing back against strong winds on Saturday’s long run, I consoled myself with a simple thought that I repeated in my mind, again and again: On the way home, the wind will be at my back.

But when it came time to turn around, something mysterious happened. The wind died down from one second to the next, from blasts that felt like hurricanes to nothing whatsoever! And it all happened the instant I turned around! Go figure.

Likewise, I’ve noticed something else: There’s a road I run on, close to home, that has a slight incline. I feel it every time I run up it, and I’m keenly aware that my pace would be better were it not for that blasted hill. But — and this is weird — every time I run the other way, that slight incline just vanishes! The road seems to become perfectly flat. That hill, which always slows me down on the way up, inevitably fails to speed me up on the way down. How odd!

All of which brings me to a realization: Either strange meteorological/topographical  miracles are taking place around me on each and every run, or maybe, just maybe, I am more inclined to take note of grievances than of blessings. In other words, I’m a complainer.

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking: It must be the meteorological/topographical miracles. Me too!

But on the purely hypothetical possibility that this has something to do with my attitude, it’s worth reflecting on how that attitude affects other facets of life. Am I more likely to notice the guy who lets me move into his lane on the freeway, or the one who cuts me off? Do I recognize my children’s good deeds as readily as I do their misbehavior? Do I blow off compliments, but stew on each and every perceived slight? Do I thank God for His goodness to me, or do I come to Him with a litany of suggestions for how He could be doing better?

“Do all things without grumbling or questioning,” St. Paul tells us, “holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain” (Phil. 2:14,16).

If I can work harder at holding fast the Word of life, perhaps I can do all things — including my runs — with less grumbling and more gratitude. Then, mindful of just how often God puts the wind at my back, I will not run in vain.